MNF Roundup

Okay, so I'm willing to bet that many of you would have thought I would not be posting this because of how the Eagles lost. Well, I'll admit that I was considering not talking about it because I was a little upset. I especially didn't want to have to deal with Redskins fans crowing about their victory. Really I can't blame them for it but they consider it more of a rivalry than I do so they tend to get a little annoying. Oh well, I will still regale you with my thinking and emotional memories from the game.

I will say right now that I have a Brian Dawkins jersey. He's a great player and he's also hilarious. Very scary guy when he's on the field and I love the fact that his nickname is "Weapon X" and that he gets his inspiration from comic books. I'm also really amused by the fact that there's a locker for "Weapon X" and that it contains all his action figures and fan drawings. This led me to wonder though if there are 53 lockers in the room. One for each player/roster spot. If there are, what happens when you get cut for the Weapon X locker? How would that feel? "Sorry Bob, but we just can't keep you. Dawkins just has too many action figures and well... they make the roster, not you. Tough break kid." I realize that this wouldn't happen but I find the idea hilarious.

I had a bad feeling going into this game and the game only made me sink into depression. I say there are three parts to that loss. 1. McNabb firing all those passes that his receivers couldn't catch. He had Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis wide open for touchdowns and threw passes they couldn't catch. Fan-fucking-tastic. 2. Wide receivers not getting open. Aside from the two previously mentioned plays, our receivers could not get open to save their lives. Who would have thought that the leading receiver (other than Westbrook) on the team would be Jason Avant? 3. Terrible playcalling. I know that Andy Reid hates to run the ball, but you've built a team that is designed to run the ball. Hulking offensive lineman, one of the most versatile backs in the league, backed up by 2 very capable big running backs. McNabb is 30 and coming back from a very bad injury. You can't put the entire game on his shoulders and throw the ball almost 40 times. 79 passing attempts vs. 42 rushing plays in 2 games? That doesn't even include the few times that McNabb has rushed, which means that the number of called passing plays is in the mid-80's (85, I looked it up). Reid has a good running game in place. For the love of God use it. During the game the Eagles kept calling play-action pass plays. There's just one problem. When you never run the ball, the other team doesn't buy it and then they crush your receivers. Andy Reid needs to stop calling plays.

Finally, the part that everyone can enjoy. I hate the MNF format. Absolutely hate it. Last year, I actually didn't mind Joe Theisman. I thought he was trying to make valid football points at times and I was willing to forgive his blatant bias. I mean, its understandable. But Mike Tirico consistently got the down-and-distance information wrong, and messed up several players' names. At least 5 errors that were not corrected per game. I counted. Then there's Tony Kornheiser. Kornheiser was pathetic last year. Beyond pathetic. He had a new fantasy player every week. I understand that this is his attempt to be the 'everyman' and that we all play fantasy football, and yes, when I'm watching football that is in the back of my mind. But to me, what I would love to hear during a game is the analysts actually analyzing the game breaking down strategy, saying whats working, whats not, and showing us things that further our understanding of football. Because thats what I want. I want to understand more fully whats going on. Finally, the last sin, which to me is the easiest to fix and the most egregious is the fucking interviews of celebrities in the 3rd quarter. The best one was Jimmy Kimmel and that was only tolerable because he was talking about grilling (future post maybe?) and asked Theisman "how's the leg?" I remember another interview with Steve McNair, via videoconference from his home, where they actually put the game in a mini-screen so we could see McNair in his recliner. I hated MNF last year and eventually stopped watching it.

This year, however, they fired Joe Theisman and replaced him with Ron Jaworski. A former Redskin being replaced by a former Eagle. The comedy is not lost on me. However, this is a fine move because Jaws is widely considered to be one of the best analysts on TV and he proved it last night actually breaking down plays during the middle of the game and deepening our understanding of what was going on. Tirico was much improved over last year, clearly and concisely delivering information as he is supposed to do and appears to have improved on down-and-distance. Kornheiser is still abominable. He actually tried to make a reference to The View. During football. He said almost nothing that actually contributed and when he left to do preparation for his PTI at halftime with Michael Wilbon, the telecast improved dramatically. I really would be happy with getting rid of Kornheiser and keeping Jaws and Tirico. He just doesn't add anything and is grating and annoying. The View! Why would you mention that fucking show during football? What the fuck are you thinking? He even tried to justify it when Charles Barkely (who wasn't half bad actually but I still want 3rd quarter celebrity interviews gone), Jaws, and Tirico all looked at him and were like "the fuck?" If you want to put Kornheiser in during half-time, fine. I'm okay with that. But get him the hell out of the booth. You ready for the sound byte? Tony Kornheiser is more brainless than John Madden when it comes to announcing football. There, I said it.

Now someone get me a turducken.

Cheers.